


The First Time John Invites Ridley For a Game of Zero-G Handball

by cookidoughlilac



Series: 10 Jobannon First Times [1]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-07 01:39:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18863125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cookidoughlilac/pseuds/cookidoughlilac
Summary: A few weeks into the friendship, EOS suggests that John invites Ridley to exercise with him aboard Thunderbird 5, so that they can spend some time talking in person rather than over a hologram.





	The First Time John Invites Ridley For a Game of Zero-G Handball

It had been a long day for John. His usual sleep cycle was shortened by an emergency that EOS could not oversee with the help of Scott or Sally, and since that first instance in the morning, the entire world seemed to fall into chaos. He had barely had time to grab a bagel for lunch, and he certainly did not have any time to get himself refreshed or complete his usual exercise routine. The day was tiring, and he was so glad that he could slow down and let the world pass by him for a few hours. 

“John…”  
The weary spaceman lifted his head as EOS appeared on her rail, her lights shining green. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes to stay awake a little bit longer, so that he could answer any queries she may have still had.  
“Yes, EOS?”  
“I have been monitoring your recent levels of exercise, as requested, and have found that your usual exercise routine has been almost halved so you can speak to the GDF captain you met a few weeks ago.”

John frowned at this observation, though in his current state of half-asleep-ness, he couldn’t quite tell if he was frowning because the observation came as a shock to him, or if it was down to feeling caught red handed. He certainly didn’t feel proud of that statistic, especially when he needed to keep up his level of fitness if he was going to be able to continue letting Alan sit on his shoulders.

“Do you have a suggestion then, EOS? I’m guessing you haven’t just come to tell me your observation of my exercise routines… although that would make for an interesting bedtime story.” John mused, looking up at his AI who had taken to almost perching by the edge of the door.  
“Are you suggesting that I file your exercise records down for your younger siblings so that you can read them to sleep?” EOS responded, a hint of sass in her voice as she gazed back down to the spaceman.  
“Ha, no. I don’t think Alan and Gordon would appreciate my exercise routines as stories. They prefer stories about zombies and marine animals.”  
“Would they like stories of ghosts?”  
“No… that would probably give them nightmares. Well, maybe not Gordon, but Alan would. Besides, ghosts don’t exist.”  
“Neither do zombies, John. Although, I believe Alan said that you were quite convinced of the existence of ghosts on Eden…”

John seemed to pull a face at that quip. He knew he shouldn’t have let Alan linger on Thunderbird 5 after they had dropped everyone safely back to the new GDF space station. Alan was eager to tell EOS of the mission after the cloaking device had cut her off from John, and he was beginning to realise that Alan hadn’t left any detail out. 

“We are not discussing… that.” He murmured, rubbing his eyes. “Look… as nice as this conversation is, I really should be getting to sleep soon, so did you have a suggestion as to how I could keep my exercise levels up? I don’t fancy an earful from Grandma or Scott…”  
“I do actually have an idea.” EOS’ lights seemed to twinkle even brighter as she was about to give her suggestion, “Why don’t you invite the Captain over, so that you can exercise together? That way, you can still have a full exercise session, but you can also speak with her at the same time. I have already looked into the potential risks of her being on board but have concluded that she would be a suitable and welcome guest.” 

Inviting the GDF captain over for an exercise session… that didn’t seem half bad, at least, for John’s half-asleep brain. If EOS had already assessed the situation and deemed it safe, then it wasn’t going to have been a bad idea.

“That sounds like it could work… I’ll send her a message in the morning to see if she likes the idea.” John explained, leaning back into his bed so he could look up at EOS.  
“If she does, perhaps I will finally be able to meet this Captain you have become friendly with. After all, if she ever needs assistance again, having familiar faces will prove beneficial for her.”

John hummed in response, sleep half threatening to completely wash over him. EOS noticed his change and dimmed the light on his behalf, slowly wheeling out of his room so he could sleep, and she could assume rescue watching duty.

That next morning, John did indeed string a quick message together to send to his new friend over on the GDF space station.

\-- Have you ever tried playing Zero-G Handball? I think you would enjoy it. If any of your sporting stories suggest anything, it’s that you’re up for a challenge, and nobody has beaten me yet. Maybe we should try playing a game or two, perhaps you’ll enjoy it. --

There, now all he had to do was wait for a reply.


End file.
